What does it take to be a good man? A lot of things, but most importantly it’s about avoiding certain behaviors that harm you.
There’s a natural human tendency to create a false equation. It’s like an error in our operating systems; a mental glitch that was never fixed by nature. It goes: observation = generalization.
It’s easy to identify, “That Asian driver cut me off. Asians are bad drivers.”
It’s the least rational type of thought pattern. More irrational than religious fundamentalism or any other modern plague of the mind, and it’s the core of many of the world’s problems.
Fortunately, conscious-minded individuals can usually detect this type of behavior early enough to squash it. However, some communities appear ripe with generalizing behavior; and as such they should be approached with healthy skepticism.
One such site is Return of Kings, made by arch PUA Roosh V.
I’ve been reading this site out of curiosity; and there can be something a bit seductive about the Manosphere’s most controversial creature that keeps me clicking to the next article…and the next one…and the next one. Some primal tendency, perhaps.
But I hope most reasonable people who stumble into this site can identify bullshit by practicing even mild critical thinking skills. Every single article on that site encapsulates negative generalizations about politics, gender issues, women, and society.
As an example, let’s take a look at a very “tame” (by RoK standards) RoK post: “Why The Ukraine Crisis Is A Red Pill Vs Blue Pill Superpower Clash”
At first glance, I find myself starting to agree with “The First Auarian”. Yes, perhaps Russian and Soviet influenced culture breeds less materialistic women. Perhaps emasculated western culture is a threat to eastern culture (which is the article’s thesis).
But it’s clear, as you read this piece, it’s just like every other article on the site: a rampant series of generalizations, that appeals to your desire for controversy but has no basis in reality.
The author takes a couple of his own VERY subjective experiences and tries to paint a broad analysis of Ukrainian culture in general. So, he had a very positive experience dating an east Ukrainian woman, and a less positive experience with a west Ukrainian. Who cares?
So the east Ukrainian woman he met was not messing with her cell-phone on a date… Who cares? He implies that the closer you get to Russia, the more likely every woman puts away her cell phone and becomes mature minded, social, sexual, and without narcissistic western tendencies.
But I seriously doubt that. For all we know, more east Ukrainians use cell phones than west Ukrainians. For all we know, east Ukrainian men are less aggressive than their western counterparts. For all we know, aggressive, over-machismo behavior of east Ukrainian men does nothing to increase the quality of the dating culture, at all.
In fact, according to statistics I’ve researched, many east European countries, including the Ukraine, have the highest rates of divorce in the world, outranking even the United States. It’s possible the extreme machismo “red pill” behavior of east European men is not helpful to relationships, at all.
While the article is “entertaining” enough to read, it does not hold up to any type of critical thought. It’s yet another example of a subjective experience leading to generalizations and then the preaching of anecdotal truth.
Of course, fueling controversy also fuels traffic, which is directly proportional to advertising dollars and product sales. Here’s an article with 188k likes, 24 Signs She’s a Slut.
Again, it’s just another parade of uncertain generalizations, anecdotes and opinion. Honestly, I don’t even know what the fuck a “slut” is. If a woman is sexual, please remind me why it’s somehow a bad thing now. I vaguely get the sense that RoK wants more women who are sexually active (ie: girls who will fuck them instead of reject them, which I think is the underlying frustration of many of the site’s writers) so why does that article have an undercurrent of condescension? I can’t figure out what “Tuthmosis” wants. Do you WANT more “sluts” or are you trying to shame women for promiscuous behavior?
While RoK can be written off as a boorish site designed around fanning flames of controversy and making Roosh and friends filthy rich, there’s a bigger undercurrent of irrational, generalizing behavior among men’s sites that I think is a lot more serious.
For instance, the predominant theme on RoK, and many other sites, is that the root of all evil, all aspects of the broken western dating culture, the reason Susie never went out with you in 7th grade, and a number of other woes is because of one boogeyman: feminism.
I am quite critical of a lot of weird, offensive stuff coming out of the brains of certain writers on sites like Jezebel, Skepchick, and Radfem, such as the atrociously bad Schroedinger’s Rapist logical fallacy that is being trumpeted across the femosphere, which seems to promote paranoia and divisiveness.
Here’s an excellent rebuttal to this type of nonsense by The Factual Feminist:
However, feminism as a catch-all enemy is absurd. The unhealthy generalization thought-error manifests yet again when people bare witness to one example of crazy feminism, and then equate the entire, very broad women’s movement as being divisive and horrible.
This generalization does not hold water, either. Feminism is about a needed women’s movement. In parts of the world, women cannot vote, cannot drive cars, and routinely have acid thrown at their faces when they break rules. What the Men’s Rights crowd sometimes forgets is that women need a voice just like men need a voice. It doesn’t mean we have to be at odds. Just ignore the crazy people. Is that so hard?
These types of negative ideologies will hurt your social and love life. A woman who could be very compatible for you may also describe herself as a feminist. What will you do then? Will you unfairly prescribe your prejudiced opinion unto her, and destroy a potentially great relationship?
A mark of maturity is the power to overcome this tendency. And, by living with that sense of maturity, you will lead a happier life, with more fruitful relationships. When the world outside your home becomes painted in irreversible colors, you are limiting your own human experience.
Do not stereotype people, and do not generalize about a culture. By doing this, you are making the world a much darker place to live.
One of the reasons that I choose to go into weird places like North Korea is to further remove from my mind the tendency to stereotype people and places. Even some of the world’s most despised people, like the members of the Korean Worker’s Party, are also human beings with multi-faceted personalities (and partying with them was a great way to realize this).
Please, be mindful about the types of information you consume. Stay open-minded, and always treat one another like human beings; not representatives of ideologies, genders, or countries.
